Disposable shoe polishing kit



R. D. ADAMS ET AL DISPOSABLE SHOE POLISHING KIT Dec. 16, 1958 Filed Dec. 4, 1956 Fig./

Fig.5

Ray 0. Adams Allen 6. Ahre INVENTORS'.

-Patented Dec. 16, 1958 DISPOSABLE SHOE POLISHING KIT Ray D. Adams and Allen G. Ahre, Wichita, Kans. Application December 4, 1956, Serial No. 626,156

2 Claims.v (Cl. 15-258) The present invention relates to a new, improved, disposable, single-use, shoe polishing kit designed and constructed for use by individuals desiring a small allin-one shoe polishing kit.

Compact kits of varied styles and other forms for practical and convenient use are not new. It will be evident, therefore, that it is an objective in the instant matter to provide a structurally and functionally novel shoe polishing kit, distinctive in character, which will better fulfill the manufacturing requirements and economies of makers and sellers and will comply, in an expeditious and successful manner, with the expected needs of users.

More specifically, the invention pertains to a throwaway polishing kit which is such in construction that it may be opened with ease and without soiling ones hands, provides a structural adaptation which is not only simple and compact but is easy to use, carry and discard and, what is also important, can be marketed and sold for a nominal sum and may be made available through normal distributing channels, such as for example, drug stores, food stores, shoe stores, vending machines and so on.

Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized by an outer paper or an equivalent container or case which entirely encloses the kit contents; namely, an axially disposed tube of shoe polish surrounded by a roll of polishing cloth, the cloth being confined, the lower end of the polish containing tube having a dauber thereon and said case having a tear tab which serves to remove the lower end and which normally covers and renders the dauber inaccessible.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a single-use throw-away shoe polishing kit constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same with the lower end portion of the outer case removed;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the coiled or wound roll of polishing material;

Fig' 4 is a perspective view of the dauber by itself and wherein the remaining portion thereof constitutes a polish containing and squeezable dispensing tube which remains in the kit;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the complete structure seen in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view of the lower portion of the same showing an alternate method in the construction.

Referring now to the drawings and to corresponding parts in all of the figures (including Fig. 6) the aforementioned casing or outer case is characterized by a flexible paper or an equivalent closed ended jacket 8 of appropriate size for individual or single use service. In this connection the entire kit is denoted by the numeral 10 in Figs. 1, 2 and 6. The lower end portion of the case 8 is opened by a tear tab 30 which exposes a suitable throw-away type dauber 14. The dauber may be said to include a dispensing tube and this is denoted by the numeral 16 and is of elongate form and small in cross-section and contains the ready-to-use shoe polish 18 of requisite consistency. The dauber 14 and tube 16 are confined in the paper wrapper 9. This tube 16 is of a collapsible type and of appropriate material so that when it is squeezed the polish is ejected from the lower end thereof into the hollow central portion 20 of the dauber as seen in Fig. 5. In practice the lower end of the collapsible tube is closed by twisting the end' 22' and enclosing a flexible cord or the like 24 which, when pulled, will break the tube seal and permit ejection of the shoe polish. The lower end portion 17 of the inner wrapper 3 surrounds or encircles the top portion 12 of the dauber and the tube 16 extends down into the dauber in the manner shown. The end portion 26 of the casing 8 has a tear-strip 28 embodied therein, the free end of which is denoted at 30 and which is intended to be caught hold of and ripped around much in the same. fashion as one opens a tear-strip-equipped package of cigarettes, chewing gum or the like. With the tear-strip severed, the end 26 of the case comes oif and exposes the dauber 14. It also exposes the lower extending end portion 32 of a second lengthwise tear-strip 34 appropriately embodied in the wrapper 9. In fact, the polishing material 36 is rolled around the dispensing tube 16 in the manner shown and yet is sutficiently compressible and one may catch hold of the wrapper 9 and squeeze it and also apply pressure to the squeezable tube 16 for purposes of expressing and ejecting the polish therefrom and, like a fountain brush, into the dauber.

With the end portion 26 of the case removed as depicted in Fig. 2 the then existing components provide a shoe polish applicator or dauber with satisfactory handle means thereon. When it is desired to polish the shoes using the roll of polishing material 36 the tab 32 is caught hold of and the tear-strip 34 serves to rip and remove the wrapper 9 and expose the polishing material 36. The latter is unrolled and used in a well known manner and afterwards the entire structure is thrown away if desired.

It will be evident that the kit when it is completely packaged has only one tab showing, that is, the pull tab 30. Pulling this tab 39 removes the lower end of the casing, exposing the inner wrapped dauber and at the same time exposes the second tab 32 seen in Fig. 2. A pull string 24, inserted in the seal of the polishing tube and projecting from the end of the dauber, is pulled free from and breaks the seal on the tube-of polish. The kit is then squeezed, as required, to force polish out through the open end and to be spread over the shoes by way of the applicator or dauber. After the polish has been applied to the shoes the tab 32 is pulled thus unwrapping and exposing the polishing material 36 and the dauber and empty dispensing tube is discarded. The remaining polishing material 36 is used to apply the shine or polish the surfaces of the shoes in a now generally Well known manner.

With reference to Fig. 6 the closure for the lower end of the polish containing and dispensing tube 16 comprises a stem 42 having a ball-like head 40. The stem is connected to the end portion 26. This is an alternate for the pull string-type closure 22 in Fig. 5.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is. claimed as new is as follows:

1. A single use disposable shoe polishing kit comprising, in combination, a disposable dauber comprising a daubing head, a manually squeezable shoe polish containing tube of elongated form communicatively and operatively attached at one end to a central portion of the dauber head and being of a length to provide a handle and of a diameter appreciably less than the diameter of the head and providing a shoulder at the juncture of said head and one end of said tube, polishing material in sheet form coiled and wound and wrapped around said tube and providing a ready-to-use roll of polishing material, said roll of polishing material being of an outside diameter corresponding to the outside diameter of said head and one end thereof abutting said shoulder, an open-ended wrapper of tearable material wrapped around said roll of polishing material and having one end portion also extended and partly wrapped around a cooperating portion of said dauber head whereby said wrapper serves to connect said dauber, as an entity, to said roll of polishing material, a tear-strip interposed between the outer wrapping of said roll of polishing material and interior of said wrapper and having one end exposed and projecting beyond the adjacent end of the wrapper adjacent to said dauber head so that by using said extending one end as a pull tab, said tab may be caught hold of and said wrapper may be ripped off to free the polishing material so that it may be unwound from the tube in a manner to render the dauber free for use and said polishing material also free for use.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and, in combination, an outer casing of tearable disposable sheet material, paper for example, completely encasing said wrapper, end of the polishing material at one end of the wrapper and said dauber head and provided with an encircling tear-strip which tear-strip, when caught hold of and removed permits the casing to be completely detached for purposes of exposing the aforementioned dauber head and tab.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

